Inking and sensing means in address printing machines



Jan- 28, 1958 c. J. HUEBER 2,821,128

INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTINN MACHINES Filed March 25. 1953 s Sheets-Sheet 1 I36 S i 15 HI Nil" IHIIUI/ vmm" %f i loo Inf/en for 2 Car! JQjtueber fi i-i-ornegs INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 25.1955

C. J. HUEBER Jan. 28, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 m n i /A WI Jnvenzor' Carl elflueber' W/ C. J. HUEBER Jan. 28; 1958 INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 25. 1953 W iil u u m 7 v m.

Inver? for Cuff lj'fueber "ZJ'Z/mu/ J n 2 195 c. J. HUEBER 2,821,128

INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 25, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor Jan. 28, 1958 c. J. HUEBER 2,821,

INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 25, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor" CCU"! @ljlziebe? I fl-af--orne'gis C. J. HUEBER Jan. 28, 1958 INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 25, 1953 Jan. 28, 1958 c. J. HUEBER 2,821,128

INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 25. 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 JIM/e12 for Car? J. flueber C. J. HUEBER Jan. 28, 1958 INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES s Sheets-Sheet 8' Filed March 25, 1955 my w W m 5% L United States Pfltfit INKING AND SENSING MEANS IN ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES Carl J. Hueber, Euclid, Ohio, assignor to Addressog'raph' Multigraph Corporation, WilmingtoinDeL, a corporation of Delaware Application March 25, 1953, Serial No. 344,581 4 Claims. (Cl. 101-58 This invention relates to printing machines of the type through which printing devices, each carrying a printing plate and adapted to bear one or more identifying tabs in association with the printing plates, are passed one by one through the machine in predetermined timed relation, and the present invention is particularly concerned with the inking of such printing plates and the means for determining whether or not the printing devices be'ar identifying tabs of a particular class.

The printing machine to which the present invention relates is of the type described and claimed in United States Patents 2,359,850 and 2,359,851 of Carl J. Hueber. In that printing machine, individual printing devices are adapted to be advanced one by one from a supply station to and through a selector or sensing station and then finally to a printing station whereat the information and data carried by the printing devicesis reproduced on printed sheets. Such printing devices each bear selectively positionable identifying tabs which are adapted by their positions to classify the printing plates, and at the aforesaid selector positions, means are effective in a sensing operation to sense ordetermine the presence or absence of identifying tabs of a particular classification. As this sensing operation is completed in the machine, control means are set up so that each printing device subjected to the sensing operation is either printed from or not when it subsequently arrives at the printing station, accordingly as the plate carried thereby falls within or without the particular classification. I

In the above identified printing machine, an inked ribbon is disposed at the printing station in position to lie between the printing plate carried by the printing device and the sheet to be printed, and a printing platen is operative at the printing station to cause the printing plate to print through the inked ribbon. While the type of reproduction obtained by this printing relation is clear, sharp and otherwise highly satisfactory, close inspection of the printed characters reveals, in some instances, the inherent pattern of the woven inked ribbon, and one of the objects of the present invention is to eliminate this so called ribbon efiect in the printed characters and to attain, in contrast, a continuous or uniform pattern for the printed characters. I

As the principle of the printing machine of Carl J. Hueber has been outlined above, it will be recognized that the printing devices are each subjected to at least two operations, a sensing operation at the sensing station where the printing devices are arrested in their movement through the machine to permit this operation to be performed, and a subsequent inking operation at the printing station which occurs simultaneously with the printing of the record sheets. A further object of the present invention is to combine these distinct operations so that the two may be simultaneously performed at the sensing station of the machine, thus dispensing with the inking operation and the necessary inking mechanism at the print ing station. I

The printing machine to which the present invention See relates utilizes a type of control for the printing operation that is adapted to be set up as a result of the sensing of identification tabs by sensing pins arranged in a sensing head according to a predetermined classification. Since this classification may be changed many times in the normal use of the machine, it is desirable that the sensing pins, and the sensing head in which these pins are mounted, be accessible to the operator of the machine for removal and reallocation to another classification when necessary. Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to devise an arrangement for the sensing pins and sensing head that isreadily accessible in the machine for the purpose set forth above, and to afford a type of sensing head that may be arranged at the side of an inking mechanism at a common station in the printing machine. In this same connection, a further object of the present invention is to devise an inking mechanism which may be utilized in the aforesaid machine at the side of the sensing mechanism, so ih'at inking and sensing operations may be performed simultaneously at a common station in the machine. H

As the present invention is embodied, the inking mechanism for inking the printing plates at the sensing station utilizes an inked ribbon as the source of ink, and a further object of the presenti'nvention is to arrange for interruptingly feeding out this ribbon in predetermined lengths between successive inking operations, and to combine this ribbon feed in timed relation to the feeding of the printing plates and the inking and sensing of the same. 7} Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have conteinplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles maybe used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the type of printing machine disclosed and claimed in theUn'ited States Patents 2,359,850 and 2,359,851 of Carl J. Hueber;

Fig. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the mechanism arranged at sensing or selector station of the aforesaid machine in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. is a sectional view taken through one of the guidew a'ys in the machine along which the printing devices are adapted to pass;

' Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation view showing part of the feed mechanism for the inked ribbon;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the inking mechanism utilized in the present instance at the sensing station;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of Fig. 6;

, Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the machine as shown in Fig. 1 with the table being broken away to disclose the underlying parts;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the selector or sensing mechanism utilized in the present instance;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the selector mechanism illustrated in Fig. 9, certain parts being broken away;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 11"'1I of Fig. 10;

Figs. 12 and 13 are perspective views of certain elements of the selector mechanism;

Fig. 14 is: a front elevation, with certain parts shown in section, of the selector mechanism; and

Fig. is a sectional view taken on the line 15-15 of Fig. 6.

As was noted hereinabove, the present invention is concerned with the printing machine described and claimed in the aforesaid United States Patents 2,359,850 and 2,359,851 of Carl J. Hueber, and in the drawings accompanying the present invention many of the reference nu-' merals of those patents have been incorporated to identify the common parts and locations of the various mechanisms. Reference therefore will be had for the moment to Figs. 1 and 8 herein with regard to the general construction of this printing machine identified herein as 100.

The printing machine 100 is of the type in which individual printing devices D stored in a vertical stack in a supply magazine M, Fig. 1, undergo sequential movement one by one through the machine to a printing station,

and 152G provided in a corresponding pair of girder.

members 151 and 152, Fig. 6, that extend from the back of the machine forwardly. The guide rails are arranged to engage the opposite marginal edge portions of the lowermost printing device D in the supply magazine to permit this printing device to be advanced in a generally forward direction along the guideway 150 toward the guideway 160 which leads off at right angles to the left. Thus, the printing devices leaving the guideway 150 advance directly in to the entrance end of the guideway 160 where a feed means 600 of a general bell-crank configuration is effec-.

tive to next advance the printing devices one by one to the left along the guideway 160 as described in the above identified Hueber patents. The printing device at the left end of the guideway 160 is adapted to enter another guideway 170 which is arranged in parallel relation to the initial guideway 150, and it is the guideway 170 which directs the printing devices into the printing station V, Fig. l, of the printing machine.

At the printing station V, means are effective to cooperate with the printing device located thereat to effect reproduction of the embossed data and other information carried by the printing device, and for this purpose a roller platen mechanism P is disposed above an opening in the table T which surrounds the printing device located at the printing station. This platen mechanism is carried by the supporting head 136 of a printing arm 134 and is arranged thereon for horizontal reciprocable operation through a printing stroke after a printing device D has come to rest at the printing position as described in the aforesaid Hueber patent. As the printing machine is described in the aforesaid Hueber patents, the platen mechanism P operates so as to roll across a sheet of paper at the station V to press such sheet into printing cooperation with an inked ribbon which overlies the printing device D at the printing station. It is this type of printing with an inked ribbon at the printing station that is dispensed with under and in accordance with the present invention. 1

, The printing devices D that are employed in the machine 100 are of the type illustrated in the Hueber patents and are so constructed and arranged that removable index or identifying means representing one or more classifications to which a printing device may pertain may be incorporated in or carried by each such printing device, and the machine 100 embodies variantly settable selector means for controlling various operable mechanisms in accordance with the characteristics imparted to the printing devices by such identifying means thereon. These 4 identifying means associated with the printing plates on the printing devices are in the form of tabs which may be selectively located at different positions along an edge of the printing device, and the selector mechanism is adapted to determine the presence or absence of such a tab on each of the printing devices passing through the machine. The selector means is located at a selector or sensing station S, Fig. 1, and is disposed over the guideway 150 just in front of the magazine M so that the selector mechanism is effective on' the printing devices as the latter are" initially advanced from the supply mechanism. To permit the selector mechanism to be effective on the printing devices, feed means are afforded as described in Hueber 1 Patent No. 2,359,850, issued October 10, 1944, to interruptingly advance the printing devices from the supply magazine to an arrested condition at the sensing station S in the guideway 150. The means for thus interruptingly advancing the printing devices along the guideway 150 to selector position at the station S includes a pair of opposite carrier bars as 401', Fig. 3, which are adapted to ride along the girder members 151 and 152, and these carrier bars are reciprocated by a connecting rod 405' which, in turn, is driven from a rock shaft 157, Fig. 3. The rock shaft 157 i represents one of the principal driving members of the machine, and, as shown in Fig. 8, this rock shaft is ro-f tatably mounted in an elongated bearing sleeve 157' which extends across the machine at the rear thereof. The rock shaft 157, as described in the aforesaid Hueber patents, 1s

4 cyclically driven by means including a clutch arrangement so that periodic oscillating movements are imparted to a connecting arm 156, Fig. 3, which is attached to one end of the connecting rod 405'. As is also shown 1n Fig. 3,

, another connecting rod 620 is driven by the connecting arm 156 so as to impart oscillating movements to an intermediate drive arrn 612, Fig. 8. The intermediate drive arm 612, in turn, is connected by a link 613 to the aforesaid feed means 600 which is effective to interruptingly advance the printing devices along the guideway 160, and

from this it will be recognized that the cyclic movements of the rock shaft 157 are effective to impart regular periodic advancing movements to the printing devices being fed through the guideways of the printing machine.

Thus, the general operation of the printing machine 100 herein illustrated for'the purpose of a more complete disclosure is identical to the operation of the printing machine described in the aforesaid Hueber patents. The present invention relates to the manner in which the printing devices are prepared for printing, that is, the means for inking the embossed faces of the printing platesthat are carried by the printing devices. In the present instance, the printing plates are inked individually at the selector or sensing station S'relatively long prior to these plates reaching the printing station V as described above- In other and more particularly in the Hueber patents. words, to ink the printing plates advantage is taken in the present instance of the fact that the printing devices on which the printing plates are mounted are momentarily arrested'at the sensing station in order that thesensing operationmay be performed with respect to the identifying tabs on the printing devices. This time lag in the advancing movement of the printing devices through the guideway 150 permits the plates to be inked at the same time. This, .of course, requires that the inking arrangement in the present instance be located immediately adjacent the selector mechanism which is adapted to sense the identification tabs-carried by the printing devices, and in accordance with the present invention, the inking mechanism and the selector mechanism are adapted to be thus will cause the ink to settle on and distribute itself uniformly across the embossed type faces so that. any cross-3 hatched ribbon effect of the inking operation is eliminated by the time the printing devices reach the printing station V at the forward end of the guideway 170. It will be appreciated in this connection that the manner in which ink is transferred from the printing plates to the sheet to be printed at the station V with the printing platen P will be substantially the same as described in the aforementioned Hueber patents.

The inking mechanism embodied in the present invention is arranged at the selector position S in an opening in the table T over the guideway 150 and somewhat in front of the magazine M, and is supported by a pair of spaced-apart vertically extended arms 169 and 171, Fig. 6, that are rigidly connected to the framework of the machine beneath the table T. Secured to these opposite arms are a pair of cast mounting plates 172 and 173 which are arranged at opposite sides of the table opening that accommodates the inking mechanism. As shown in Fig. 2, an inked ribbon IR is arranged on a pair of vertically opposed spools that are journably mounted on an extension of the right mounting plate 173, and this ribbon is adapted to travel across the top of the mounting plates 172 and 173, then down along the outside face of the left plate 172, Fig. 6, and then back beneath the mounting plates 172 and 173 in an overlying relation to the guideway 150. An inking platen mechanism 200 of the stamper type is arranged between and supported by the mounting plates 172 and 173 in a yielding suspended relation above the lower pass of the inked ribbon, and the operation is such that the platen mechanism 200 is actuated to press the inked ribbon in an inking engagement with the printing plate on each new printing device that reaches selector position.

Thus, it will be seen that the spaced-apart mounting plates 172 and 173 serve to mount and support the major part of the inking mechanism 209, and as shown in Fig. 7 the right hand plate 173 is formed with an extension 173A on which is mounted a ribbon reversing and advancing mechanism 300 that is effective to regularly feed out the inked ribbon in predetermined amounts and which is also effective in a Well known manner to reverse the direction of ribbon feed accordingly as the ribbon plays out.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 15, the selector mechanism, which includes a sensing head SH carrying sensing pins 525, is located in the guideway 150 between the inking mechanism and the supply magazine M so that the sensing of the identifying tabs 120 carried by the printing devices and the inking of the printing plates carried by the printing devices in association with the identifying tabs occur simultaneously at the same station in the guideway 150. Thus, as shown in Fig. 15, the sensing head is arranged in the guideway 150 so that the sensing pins 525 directly overlie the index tabs as 120 of the printing devices when the latter come to rest beneath the inking platen mechanism 2% at the sensing station S. The sensing head SH is mounted for vertical movement through a sensing stroke so that the presence or absence of such tabs as 120 may be sensed and determined, and in order to eifect such movement the sensing head is secured to and mounted between a pair of vertically disposed drive links 627 and 631, Fig. 14, which, in turn, at their lower ends, are drivingly connected to a corresponding pair of arms as 625 and 630. These arms 625 and 630 are arranged for an up and down movement as viewed in Fig. 15, and as described particularly in Hueber Patent 2,359,851, so that the sensing head SH describes corre sponding up and down movements while guided by a rod 501 which is adapted to slide in a vertical guiding sleeve 503 secured in the machine at the right side of the guideway 150 as viewed in Fig. 14.

Arranged in the guideway 150 directly beneath the sensing head SH is a tab support plate 510 which, in turn, is supported on a transverse spacing member 511 that spans and is connected to the girder members 151 and 152. The tab support plate 510 has a plurality of spaced grooves 512' formed therein parallel to the guideway 150, and these grooves are of such a width that a plurality of spaced supporting ribs 513 are provided which will, in every instance, underlie and support one or more portions of each index tab 120 carried by a printing device when the latter is at rest at the selector position S. For sensing the presence or absence of a tab 120 above the tab support plate 510, the sensing head SH carries a plurality of removably mounted sensing pins 525 which in the sensing head are aligned with the grooves 512 in the tab support plate 510, and upon lowering movement of the sensing head SH as viewed in Figs. 14 and 15, such sensing pins either engage an index tab as 120 or, in the absence of such a tab, pass on down into the corresponding aligned groove 512 during a normal downward movement of the sensing head. From this it will be seen that the sensing head SH will either advance toward the tab support plate 510 to the fullest extent with the sensing pins disposed in the receiving grooves 512, or else will be interrupted in its downward movement by a pin 525 engaging a tab 120, and in this connection it should be pointed out that the arms 625 and 630 which impart downward movement to the sensing head have a yielding relationship which affords an impositive downward movement.

Thus, the presence or absence of an index tab and the length and location of the sensing pins 525 determine the amount of downward movement of the sensing head, and the degree of this movement is registered by a cam plate 735 attached to the lower end of the guide rod 501. As described in Hueber Patent 2,359,851, this cam plate 735 is included as a part of the general printing machine control unit that is adapted to control printing operations at the printing station V. Thus, the cam plate 735 controls the set-up of a storage drum in the printing machine that is used to store the instructions of the various index tabs until the printing devices corresponding thereto each arrive at the printing station V whereupon the stored information is acted upon by the machine.

The particular manner in wihoh the sensing head SH is raised and lowered by the arms 625 and 630 is fully described in the aforesaid Hueber patents, and description in this regard need not be repeated here other than to point out that the time relationship in operation is such that the sensing head is lowered in a tab detecting or sensing relation toward the plate 510 after the particular printing device has been located at the sensing station S by the feed members as 401, Fig. 13. This can be looked upon as occurring after the counterclockwise rocking movement of the shaft 157, as viewed in Fig. 3, and during the idle or return movement of the feed members as 401' back from selector position at the station S to the magazine M to pick up a new printing device as described fully in the Hueber patents. It is during this clockwise return movement of the shaft 157 that the inker platen mechanism 200 is also operated so that the printing devices are simultaneously subjected to inking and sensing operations at the station S. On the other hand, the ribbon reversing mechanism 300 is actuated during the initial or counterclockwise movement of the rock shaft 157, as will be described later.

Under and in accordance with the present invention, the printing plates carried by the printing devices are each inked in a temporary at-rest position when located at the sensing station S by a vertically reciprocable ink platen mechanism 200, Fig. 15, which extends across the guideway between the mounting plates 172 and 173 and above the lower pass of the inked ribbon IR. Thus, the platen mechanism 200 in the present instance is adapted for positive operation in a downward direction as viewed in Fig. 15 to press the corresponding portion of the ink ribbon IR into inking relation in engagement With the embossed face of the printing plate that is carried by the particular printing device that has been arrested temporarily at the sensing station S and, for this purpose, a platen plate 212 is mounted on a platen carriage 201 which, in turn, is arranged for reciprocation in a vertical,

up and down relation.

The platen carriage 201 is yoke-like in nature and includes a pair of spaced apart triangular shaped mounting arms 203 and 204, Fig. 7, and at the front of the carriage 201 are a pair of vertically spaced supporting shafts 235U and 235L which are used in the present instance to afford a yieldable suspension for the carriage 201 between the main mounting plates 172 and 173. To this end, the shaft 235U and 235L are connected between the mounting plates 172 and 173, and upper and lower guide arms 236U and 236L, Fig. 6, are journably mounted in pairs at either end of the supporting shafts 235. These guide arms are pivotally connected at their inner ends to corresponding aligned mounting pins as 201P, Fig. 15, attached in vertically spaced relation to the outer sides of the carriage arms 203 and 204.

The carriage 201 includes a lower horizontal carriage plate 206 which is mounted between and attached to the lower ends of the carriage mounting arms 203 and 204. The platen carriage 201 is normally yieldingly held out of the path of the printing devices as D in the guideway 150 in the position shown in Fig. 15 by a pair of springs 231 and 232, Fig. 6, which are attached at their upper ends to pins 235P projecting at spaced points from the upper supporting shaft 235U and at their lower ends to complementary mounting pins 206P which project upwardly at corresponding spaced points on the forward edge of the carriage plate 206. From this it will be seen that the mounting arrangement for the platen carriage 201 is effective to yieldably suspend the platen carriage above the guideway 150 for movement in an up and down relation with respect to the supporting shafts 235.

The platen itself in the present instance is in the form of a relatively flat rectangular plate 212 at the bottom of which is a hard rubber stamper pad 212P, and this platen subassembly i-s adjustably mounted at the bottom of the horizontal carriage plate 206. As shown in Fig. l5, the platen 212 is normally located by the springs 231 and 232 just above the printing device D which has come to rest in the guideway 150 at selector position, and a cooperating anvil 220 is located beneath this printing device so as to back up the inking action of the platen on the particular printing plate.

As shown in Fig. 7, four screws are associated with the horizontal carriage plate 206 to which the platen 212 is attached, and as will be pointed out below, three of these screws are used to adjust the level of the platen relative to the printing device. The fourth screw, 205, is adapted to connect the platen to the carriage 261 in this adjustable relation. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6, the screw 205 is relatively long, and includes a threaded lower end, Fig. 15, threadedly connected to a corresponding threaded opening in the top of the platen 212 so as to connect the latter to the platen carriage. A compression spring 2055 is mounted concentrically on the screw 205 and is held under compression against the top of the carriage plate 206 by an abutment 208 secured to the shaft of the screw 205. The upper end of the screw 205 is in the form of a knurled head 205K which, as can be seen in Figs. 6 and 7, is accessible to the operator, and this permits the platen 212 to be moved toward and away from the bottom of the carriage plate 206 while biased by the spring 2658 to accordingly regulate the effective pressure of the platen on the printing device.

The remaining screws 203A, 20313 and 203C are adjustably set in corresponding housings as 202 which extend across the top of the carriage plate 206, and each such screw includes a depending end as 2031-1 which is seated in the top side of the platen 212 at a corresponding point. It will be seen that the spring 2-ll5S is normally efiective to yieldingly hold the platen 212 up in engagement with the lower ends as 203H of the three adjusting screws. By turning one or another of the three leveling screws 203A, 203B and 203C in one direction or another,

a true stamping relationship can be established betweenthe plane of the platen pad 212P and the plane of the embossed characters on the printing device facing upwardly theretoward at the selector position S. It will be clear that once the screw 205 is completely unloosened relative to the platen 212, the latter may be removed from the carriage 201, a handle 212H, Fig. 15, being attached to the forward side of the platen 212 for this purpose.

The inking action of the platen carriage 201 in a downward or inking direction takes place against the return action of the springs 231 and 232, and this movement of the inking carriage is controlled by a pair of multi-lobed cams 251, Figs. 4 and 15, which are mounted in horizontal spaced relation on a cam shaft 250 that extends parallel to the carriage supporting shafts 235 and above the bottom platen carriage plate 206. The cam shaft 250 projects through openings in the vertical carriage plates 203 and 204 and is adapted to rotate at either end in the main mounting plates 172 and 173. Thus, it can be seen in Fig. 2, that the cams 251 are located just opposite the inside faces of the vertical carriage plates 203 and 204, and the relationship is such that the cams 251 are effective to operate on cam follower rollers as 215 located at either side of the carriage plate 206. These opposite cam followers 215 are each normally disposed in a corresponding pair of opposite recesses that exist be; tween the cam lobes 251L, the springs 231 and 232 maintaining this condition, and upon rotation of the cam shaft 250 the followers, and hence the carriage 201, are pressed down into the printing device guideway to press the lower pass of the ribbon IR against the particular printing plate that is located beneath the platen 212.

The cams 251 and the cam shaft 250 are operated from the same rock shaft 157 that was described above in connection with the movement of the printing devices through the printing machine. To this end, a ratchet 255 is secured to the right hand end of the cam shaft 250 as viewed in Fig. 7, and this ratchet is adapted to be stepped or turned in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 by a pawl 261. A triangular shaped drive plate 256 is journably mounted at the right end of the cam shaft 250 in opposed relation to the ratchet 255, and this drive plate carries the pawl 261 so that when the drive plate 256 is turned in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4, the ratchet 255 is stepped through a positive movement and the cam lobes 251L at five oclock position relative to the cam followers 215 are stepped around to bear against the followers 215 forcing the platen carriage downward in a stamping relation toward the printing device at selector position. This movement of the drive plate 256 is afforded by a long drive link 255A which extends between and interconnects a lower leverage point or arm 256L on the drive plate 256 and a drive arm 256A secured to the rock shaft 157 for movement therewith. The normal position for these parts is shown in Fig. 4 so that the first or initial half cycle movement of the rock shaft 157 thus illustrated is in a counterclockwise direction which feeds a new printing device from the magazine M into selector position S beneath the platen mechanism 200. It will be recognized that during this movement of the rock shaft 157, the drive plate 256 for the ratchet 255 undergoes an idle movement during which time the pawl 261 rides freely back over the ratchet tooth which is next to be engaged by it, this action of the pawl 261 occurring against the usual return spring 2618. After the rock shaft 157 is effective in a full counterclockwise movement in the first half cycle to advance a printing device to selector position, the pawl 261 is then engaged in a positive relation with a tooth on the ratchet 255. During return or clockwise movement of the rock shaft 157 in the next half cycle of movement, the drive plate 256 and the pawl 261 are effective to impart a positive stepping action 'to the ratchet 255 and this, of course, rotates the cams 251 in a clockwise direction against the followers 215 forcing the platen down and effecting inking of the printing plate that was last advanced into selector position S during the first half cycle of operation of the rock shaft 157 mentioned above. In this manner, periodical rocking movements of the rock shaft 157 are utilized to operate the platen mechanism 200 during each cycle of operation of the rock shaft 157. The manner in which the rock shaft 157 is also effective to feed the inked ribbon will be described below.

The inked ribbon IR is supplied from a pair of spools 275 and 276 which are rotatably supported on the extension 173A of the right-hand mounting plate 173. These spools are arranged on the mounting plate 173A in vertically opposed relation, and as has been noted above, the inked ribbon is stretched from the upper spool around and beneath the platen mechanism 200 and then back to the lower spool 276. In addition to the guide plates 180 and 181 attached to the top sides of the main mounting plates 172 and 173, respectively, a pair of guiding pins 271 and 272 are supported adjacent the lower sides of these main mounting plates so as to guide the lower pass of the inked ribbon IR accurately beneath the platen 212 and onto the lower spool 276. In this connection, it will be observed that, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the upper and lower passes of the inked ribbon are on a diagonal line relative to the path of the printing devices in the guideway 150, this arrangement assuring a more efficient utilization of the inked ribbon in that the inked ribbon will engage the embossures on the printing plates diagonally and hence the ribbon will not be worn, so as to speak, along a parallel path as would be the case if the ribbon were to travel straight across the printing plates.

The inked ribbon is fed out in regular amounts between successive inking operations, and for this purpose in the present instance the spools 275 and 276 each embody respective feed ratchets 275R and 276R, Fig. 6, disposed at the back on the mounting plate extension 173A. The manner in which these ratchets are adaptedto feed the inked ribbon will be described below in connection with the ribbon reversing mechanism.

In order to maintain the inked ribbon in a fresh condition at all times, an inking battery IB is arranged at this side of the machine 100, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This inking battery is of the type disclosed in the United States Patent 2,599,561 of J. R. Knight, issued June 10, 1952, and hence comprises a plurality of ink spool cartridges in the form of bottles 109, Fig. 6, which are held in position by spring clamps 110 in a frame 104. As described in the aforesaid Knight patent, the bottles 109 each contain a supply of ink, and the inkin these bottles is supplied by capillary action from wicks as 112 which are extended through corresponding hoods or tubes 111 at the top of the ink cartridges. A distributing roller 113 is journably supported at the top of the frame 104 at the exposed ends of the wicks 112 in position to engage the ribbon on the upper spool 275, and the wicks 112 at this point engage the distributing roller 113 so that a continuous supply of ink is maintained by capillarity on the distributing roller and hence on the inked ribbon.

The distributing roller 113 maintains continuous contact with the inked ribbon on the upper spool 275, and in order to sustain this relationship, a stub shaft 106' is supported on a mounting bracket 105 which, in turn, is attached to the lower right-hand corner of the mounting plate extension 173A, as shown in Fig. 6. The stub shaft 106 extends in parallel relation to the spools 275 and 276 and serves as a support for opposite roller bearings 106R arranged at either side of the battery frame 104. In this manner, the ink battery frame 104 is in more or less of a floating condition on the stub shaft 106, thus assuring continuous engagement between the inked ribbon and the ink distributing roller 113.

The ink cartridges 109 are individually adjustable on the frame 104 in order that the ribbon may be evenly inked. This adjustable relationship is established through a set of turn screws 117, Fig. 6, which are threadedly mounted on a bracket 119 secured to the back of the frame 104. These turn screws 117 are each adapted to raise or lower the corresponding ink cartridge 109, and this of course will result in an adjustment of the corresponding capillary wick 112 relative to the distributing roller 113.

The means for feeding the inked ribbon between the spools 275 and 276 is of the type that is adapted to be actuated between successive movements of the platen 112, since it will be recognized that during this time interval the printing device last subjected to the action of the platen 112 is being advanced out of selector position while the printing device next to be subjected to the inking action of the platen is being advanced from a lowermost position in the magazine M along the guideway into selector position beneath the platen mechanism and the sensing head SH. Thus, the means for advancing the inked ribbon IR stepwise between the spools 275 and 276 is adapted to be actuated at a time when the platen mechanism is inoperative.

The ribbon feeding and reversing mechanism which is utilized in the present instance to feed out the inked ribbon in predetermined lengths between successive inking operations, and to reverse the direction of travel of the ribbon when the supply on one or the other of the spools 275 and 276 is exhausted, is located at the rear of the mounting plate extension 173A, and to this end the mounting plate 173A includes a horizontally aligned set of three mounting bosses 177, 178 and 179, Fig. 7. These mounting bosses are arranged on a diagonal line relative to the vertial plane of the mounting plate 173A, and this is so in order to accommodate the diagonal path of travel mentioned above in connection with the travel of the inking ribbon IR. Thus, a pair of upper and lower mounting bosses as 178 are cast substantially midway at the back of the mounting plate 173A, and this pair of mounting bosses serves tosupport the respective drive shafts for the ribbon spools 275 and 276. Thus, the drive shaft 275A, Fig. 7, for the upper ribbon spool 275 is journably mounted in the corresponding upper mounting boss 1'78 and has fixed thereto a feed ratchet 275R to which attention will be directed below in connection with the manner in which the ribbon spools are operated.

The other mounting bosses 177 and 179 projecting from the back of the mounting plate 173A afford mounts for a rearwardly spaced mounting plate 301 which is cast to include a first set of spaced upper and lower mounting arms 303U and 303L and another set of spaced upper and lower mounting arms 305U and 305L. These spaced apart upper and lower mounting arms at the back of the plate 301 serve to rotatably mount a pair of upper and lower shafts 330 and 340, and these vertically spaced shafts afford a means for manually rotating the ribbon spools 275 and 276. The upper shaft 330 is associated with the upper spool 275 and includes a bevel gear 331 which is meshed with a complementary beveled gear 335, Fig. 7, carried at the end of the drive shaft 275A remote from the associated spool 275. The end of the shaft 330 that is disposed in the upper mounting arm 305U is adapted at 330K for key operation in a known manner, so that by inserting a complementary key into the corresponding key opening in the arm 305U the shaft 330, and thereby the ribbon spool 275, may be manually rotated to the extent desired. Similarly, the lower drive shaft 340 for the lower spool 276 includes a bevel gear 34 that is meshed with a bevel gear 345 fixed to the drive shaft for the lower ribbon spool, and the shaft 340 is also adapted for a key operation in the associated mounting arms 303L and 305L.

During normal operation of the printing machine, it will be appreciated that only one or the other of the ribbon spools 275' and 276 is positively and automatically rotated in a step-wise manner between successive lowering movement of the platen 212 so as to pull out predetermined lengths of inked ribbon from the other rib bon spool which remains idle at this time. Thus, as was noted above, each ribbon spool 275 and 276 includes a feed ratchet, Fig. 6. These ratchets are located on the respective drive shafts for the ribbon spools between the mounting plates 173A and 301, Fig. 7, and during operation of the machine one or the other of these ratchets is driven by a corresponding pawl, 375 or 376, Fig. 6, which is carried on a shiftably mounted pawl feed plate 360.

The pawl feed plate 360, is, as shown in Figs. and 6, somewhat T-shaped in outline, and includes an enlarged head portion 360A, an intermediate or body portion 361 extending between the feed ratchets 275R and 276R, and an enlarged yoked outer end 362. This pawl feed plate 360 is mounted for shifting movement to the left and right on the forward face of the mounting plate 301, and for this purpose the mounting plate 301 is formed with two projecting vertically spaced mounting pins 301P, Fig. 6, located generally at the left side of the mounting plate 301, and another mounting pin plate 301, and another mounting pin 304P, Fig. 7, at the right hand end of the plate 301. Corresponding to the mounting pins 301P are a pair of vertically disposed and horizontally extended guide slots 3608, Fig. 5, formed in the head 360A of the pawl feed plate 360, and corresponding to the mounting pin 304P is another guide slot 3625 at the yoked end 362 of the pawl feed plate 360. These guide pins and slots are arranged to register, and in this manner the pawl feed plate 360 is mounted for shifting movement in one direction or another along a horizontal path between the feed ratchets 275R and 276R.

Mounted on the narrow body portion 361 of the feed plate 360 are a pair of feed pawls 375 and 376 associated, respectively, with the ratchets 275R and 276R, and the relationship is such that only one feed pawl is engaged with a corresponding ratchet at a time. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6, the feed pawl 376 for the lower ratchet 276R is engaged therewith while the upper pawl 375 for the ratchet of the upper ribbon spool is disposed in a disengaged relation, and from this it will be seen that shifting movement of the pawl feed plate 360 to the left as viewed in Fig. 6 will cause the pawl 376 to turn the ratchet 276R in a counter clockwise direction, and a corresponding length of inked ribbon will be pulled from the upper spool 275 to present a new section of inked ribbon to the platen 212. It will be recognized that this ribbon advancing relationship is in conformance with the fact that the upper ribbon spool shown in the drawings contains a substantially full supply of inked ribbon, while it is the lower spool 276 which is relatively empty. On the other hand, shifting movement of the pawl feed plate 360 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 6, corresponds to an idle movement of the pawl 375, since this pawl is disposed in an inoperative relationship, and when the pawl feed plate 360 shifts to the right both pawls, of course, advance through idle movements, the feed plate 360 being guided in each instance of movement by the guide pins 301P and 304?.

These shifting movements to the left and right by the pawl feed plate 360, in order to feed out fresh lengths of ribbon to the platen mechanism, between successive inking operations, are controlled by a spiral cam 315 which is mounted for rotation adjacent the left end of the mounting plate 301, and the cam 315, in turn, is adapted to be driven first in one direction and then the other from the same drive plate or arm 256 that controls inking movement of the platen carriage 201. The spiral cam 315 is fixed on a cam shaft 316, and this cam shaft is rotatably mounted at one end in a bearing 309 formed at the left end of the mounting plate 301, midway between the upper and lower mounting arms 303U and 303L. As

shown in Fig. 5, an arm 310 is extended in an outboard relation from the inner end of the mounting plate 301, and this arm includes a vertical extension on which is formed another bearing 311 that rotatably supports the other end of the cam shaft 316. In this manner, the mounting plate 301 is effective to rotatably support the cam 315 that is adapted to feed out the inked ribbon IR in predetermined lengths.

Fixed on the cam shaft 316 between the spiral cam 315 and the inner bearing member 311 is a pinion gear 317, Figs. 4 and 5, adapted to be rotated in opposite directions by means including the triangular-shaped drive plate 256 that serves to drivingly connect the rock shaft 157 to the cam shaft 250 for the platen carriage. Thus, as shown in Fig. 4, the drive plate 256 includes an upper lever arm or point 256U to which is connected a relatively long rack 318 for the pinion gear 317. This rack is operatively engaged with the pinion 317 and the relationship is maintained by a pair of rollers 319R journably mounted in position on a roller plate 319 so as to engage the upper edge of the rack 318. The roller plate 319, in turn, is journaled on the cam shaft 316.

It will be clear from the foregoing that the cyclic rocking movements of the cam shaft 157 will be effective to cause the rack 318 to reciprocate back and forth beneath the guide rollers 319R, the loose mounting of the roller plate 319 on the cam shaft 316 permitting this type of action to take place. This reciprocal movement of the rack 318 will cause the pinion 317, the cam shaft 316, and the cam 315 to rotate first in one direction and then the other.

To establish a drive between the cam 315 and the pawl feed plate 360 so that the latter will shift horizontally first in one direction and then the other in accordance with the opposite rotative movements of the cam 315, the latter is formed with a spiral groove 315G, Fig. 5. At the back of the pawl feed plate 360 is fixed a block 365, Fig. 7. and this block. in turn, serves to support a fixed drive pin 370 which engages the spiral groove 315G. By this arrangement, the travel of the cam 315 will be imparted to the feed plate 360 so that the latter reciprocates to the left and right accordingly and respectively as the spiral cam groove 3156 is caused to turn first counterclockwise and then clockwise by the combined action of the rack 318, the pinion 317, and the drive plate 256. Thus, a normal position for these parts is illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7, and upon initial or counterclockwise movement of the rock shaft 157 the cam 315 is caused to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4, pulling the pawl feed plate 360 in a ratchet driving direction to the left, and upon return or clockwise movement of the rock shaft 157, the cam 315 causes the drive pin 370 in the groove 315G to travel back to the right then forcing the pawl plate 360 through its return or idle movement in a corresponding shift to the right.

While the feature constitutes no part of the present invention, the feed for the ribbon IR is reversed in the present instance by shifting the feed pawls 375 and 376 through the tension in the inked ribbon. This of course represents a known type of ribbon reversing mechanism, and will not be described herein other than to point out that the feed pawls 375 and 376 are each mounted on a common plate 381, Fig. 6, that has two vertical positions, one in which the pawl 375 only is disposed in a feeding relation in engagement with the corresponding ratchet 275R and another in which only the pawl 376 is adapted to feed the ribbon in the opposite direction. The plate 381 shifts automatically when the ribbon plays out and may also be shifted manually by a shift bar 380A, Fig. 7.

As can be determined from Fig. 8, the inclusion of the ribbon inking mechanism of the present invention at the selector position identified as H in the printing machine disclosed in the aforesaid Hueber patents substantially reduces the amount of space in the guideway that can be allotted to the means effective to sense the identifying tabs carried by the printing devices. By comparison with the printing machines in the aforesaid Hueber patents, it will be recognized that the guideway 150 has not been lengthened in the present instance and it follows, of course, that the sensing means utilized in the present machine must be located closely adjacent the inking mechanism if a sensing operation of the aforesaid type is to be carried out on the identifying means 120. It is of course essential that the sensing mechanism also be adapted for ready removal and disassemblage in order that the sensing pins as 525 may be removed, reloacted or otherwise adjusted in relation to the index tabs 120 associated with the printing plates carried by the printing devices.

These requirements are met under and in accordance with the present invention by the sensing means illustrated in Figs. 9 to 15, the sensing means thus shown being adapted for disassemblage and removal in place, as well as simultaneous operation at the side of the ink platen mechanism 200.

The sensing pins 525 that are adapted to determine whether or not there are identification tabs of a particular class in association with the printing plates passing through the sensing station S in the machine are arranged in a sensing head SH which is removably mounted in an outer holder 400. The holder 400 is connected to the upper ends of the drive links 627 and 631 by means of pins 401? and 402P, Fig. 14. Thus the sensing head holder 400 includes a pair of block-like end members 401 and 402, and a pair of spaced apart side plate members 406 and 407 are secured to the opposite faces of the blocks 401 and 402 so as to afford a rectangular mounting cavity 404 which is open at the top and bottom. In this manner it will be seen that the holder 400 for the sensing head SH will reciprocate up and down above the tab support plate 510, Fig. 14, and at the side of the platen mechanism 200 in accordance with the up and down movement of the drive links 627 and 631.

The right hand end block 402 is formed with an opening 405 which serves to attach the upper end of the guide rod 501 as best shown in Fig. 10. The upper inner corners of the blocks 401 and 402 are cut away to afford opposite mounting shoulders as 408 and 409, Fig. 13, and these shoulders are each formed with vertically disposed threaded openings 410 and 411, which serve as a means of removably mounting the sensing head SH in the-case 400, as will be described below.

The sensing head SH which carries and mounts the sensing pins 525 is rectangular in shape, as can be observed in the drawings, and is adapted to fit snugly in the complementary shaped cavity 404 that is provided by the outer holder 400. To this end, the sensing head includes an inner holder 415 in the form of a pin bar 435 and a pair of opposite channel plates 420 and 421 that correspond in length to the length of the cavity 404 and which are spaced apart from one another a distance corresponding to the width of the cavity 404. Each plate 420 and 421 is formed with an overhanging lip as 420L, Fig. 11, which defines a channel of substantial depth above the heads of the sensing pins in the holder 415. When the channel plates 420 and 421 affording the inner holder for the sensing pins are thus mounted in the cavity 404, the bottom edges thereof align with the bottom edges of the side plates 406 and 407, and the sensing pins 525 project a substantial distance therebeneath, as shown in Fig. 10, in position to engage the index tabs as 120 when the holder 400 is lowered in a sensing relation toward an arrested printing device at the sensing station.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 7 the sensing head includes a handle 425 that is located in an accessible position just to the rear of the platen mechanism 200. This handle 422 is attached to a rectangular elongated retaining block 425, Figs. 10 and 11, that is slidably mounted in the inner holder above and in engagement with the heads of the sensing pins so that the handle and attached block 425 can 14 be manually slid in and out of the channel that lies between the channel plates 420 and 421. This relationship between the handle 422 and retaining block 425 is maintained by a set of studs 427, Fig. 10. The studs 427 in turn extend through a mounting plate 426 which is attached to the top side of the block 425 by means of a set of screws 428.

As shown in Fig. 9, the mounting plate 426 is relatively long and narrow, extending the length of the retaining block 425, and at opposite ends the plate 426 is offset upwardly so as to afford a set of end arms 426A disposed in vertical spaced relation to the main body of the plate 426. These upwardly spaced end arms 426A correspond to a complementary set of end arms 425A which project from the opposite ends of the block 425, as best shown in Figs. 10 and 12. However, the arms 425A are coplanar with the top of the block 425 so that the opposite sets of arms 425A and 426A are disposed in vertical spaced relationship with respect to one another. The arms 425A and 426A are each provided with aligned openings for receiving opposite attaching screws 423 that are adapted to register with the aforesaid threaded openings 410 and 411 formed in the end blocks 401 and 402 of the case 400, and thus the screws 423 serve as a means for attaching the sensing head in an encased relation within the outer holder 400. Locking washers 424, Fig. 10, are mounted on the attaching screws 423 in the space provided therefor between the end arms 425A and 426A, and it will be seen that this arrangement affords an efiective self-locking attachment between the sensing head and the outer holder 400.

The sensing pins 525 are of course mounted in the pin bar 435 just beneath the retaining block 425. To this end the pin block 435 includes appropriate vertical openings which serve to receive the sensing or selector pins in the relationship as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 with the enlarged head portions 5251-1 of the sensing pins resting on the top side of the pin bar 435 beneath the retaining bar 425. Recesses as 436 corresponding to the selector pins 525 are provided with a retaining spring 437 which is configured to engage grooves 525G formed in the shanks of the pins 525, and it will be readily recognized that the springs 437 are eifective to removably mount and retain the selector pins in position in the pin bar 435.

The sensing pins can be made accessible to the operator by first detaching the sensing head from the sensing head holder, and then sliding the handle 422 and retainer bar 425 out of the inner holder 415, whereupon one or more selected pins may be removed, replaced or relocated, as desired in the inner holder.

It will be seen from the foregoing that in accordance with the present invention, sensing and inking operations to be performed on the printing devices are effective simultaneously at a common station in the printing machine. Thus, the present invention utilizes the temporary at-rest condition of the printing devices at the selector station to simultaneously ink the printing plates carried by the printing devices, and by the time such a printing device reaches the printing station, in its progress through the machine, the ink on the embossed type faces will have distributed itself uniformly so that any ribbon efiect will be largely eliminated from the printed characters reproduced at the printing station.

This desirable end has been achieved in the present instance by the novel inking and sensing mechanisms disclosed above, and by utilizing a drive arrangement in the machine that is adapted to operate these mechanisms simultaneously during the time that the printing devices are each arrested at the sensing station.

On the other hand, a high efliciency of ink transfer on to the printing plates on the printing devices is attained during the time that a new printing plate is being advanced along the guideway from the magazine M to the sensing station S. This is characterized by the feeding out of a predetermined new length of inked ribbon as the printing device carrier bars in the guideway 150 return to the magazine M for a new printing device, and of course the ink battery IB asusres that a continuous and uniform supply of ink is maintained on the inked ribbon.

I claim:

1. In a printing machine of the type in which printing devices each having identifying tabs associated therewith for effecting control over the printing operations are adapted to be passed one by one along a guideway in the machine to a sensing station whereat such identifying tabs are to be sensed to set up the control, an outer sensing head holder located at the sensing station above the guideway, said holder being connected to a means in the machine for moving the holder toward and away from a printing device located at the sensing station, an inner sensing head holder mounted in said outer holder for sliding movement in and out with respect thereto, said inner holder including a pair of laterally spaced side plates having overhanging lips along their top edges defining a channel in the inner holder, a plurality of spaced apart sensing pins mounted in the bottom of said inner holder so as to project from the bottom of said outer holder in position to engage the identifying tabs of a printing device at the sensing station when the outer holder is moved theretoward, and a block having a handle slidably mounted in said channel of the inner holder with the bottom of said block engaging the heads of the sensing pins.

2. In a printing machine having a printing station and wherein printing plates each having identifying means associated therewith for effecting control over the printing operations are adapted to be passed one by one to a sensing station remotely removed from the printing station and whereat said identifying means are to be sensed in order to set up the control, reciprocable feed means for advancing the printing plates one by one from an initial storage position to said sensing station, oscillatable drive means for reciprocating said feed means in opposed directions between said initial position and said sensing station so that a printing plate is temporarily arrested at the sensing station while said feed means are reciprocating from said sensing station back to said initial position to pick up the next printing plate to be advanced to the sensing station, sensing means at the sensing station adapted to be advanced toward such an arrested printing plate to sense the identifying means thereon, an inking platen at the sensing station mounted in close proximity to the sensing means and adapted to effect inking of the printing plates individually as each is arrested while undergoing sensing at the sensing station, yieldable means for holding the platen in a normal position spaced from the arrested printing plate at the sensing station, a cam shaft and multilobe cam means driven thereby effective to actuate the platen in opposition to said yieldable means, means to dispose an inked ribbon beneath the platen for inking an arrested printing plate when the platen is actuated, a

ratchet on said cam shaft for imparting step-wise rotary motion to said cam shaft, a feed pawl for indexing said cam shaft ratchet and mounted on a drive plate, a link for operating said drive plate from said oscillatable drive means so as to actuate the platen and effect inking of an arrested printing plate while being sensed, means for feeding out a predetermined length of the ribbon between successive actuations of the inking platen and including spools for the ribbon, a ratchet operatively associated with at least one such ribbon spool, a ribbon feed pawl carried on a reciprocable ribbon feed plate for driving the ratchet associated with said ribbon spool, a spiral cam for reciprocating said reciprocable ribbon feed plate, a drive pinion for the spiral cam, and a reciprocable rack for driving said drive pinion, said reciprocable rack in turn being driven by the drive plate on which the first-named pawl is mounted.

3. In a printing machine having a printing station and wherein printing plates each having identifying means associated therewith for effecting control over the printing operations are adapted to be passed one by one to a sensing station whereat said identifying means are to be sensed in order to set up the control, reciprocable feed means for advancing the printing plates one by one from an initial storage position to said sensing station, oscillatable drive means for reciprocating said feed means between said initial position and said sensing station so that a printing plate is temporarily arrested at the sensing station while said feed means are reciprocating from said sensing station to said initial position to pick up the next printing plate to be advanced to the sensing station, sensing means at the sensing station adapted to be advanced toward such an arrested printing plate to sense the identifying means thereon, an inking platen mounted at the sensing station in close proximity to the sensing means and adapted to effect inking of the printing plates individually as each is arrested while undergoing sensing at the sensing station, yieldable means for holding the platen in a normal position spaced from the arrested printing plate at the sensing station, a cam shaft, multi-lobe cam means driven by said cam shaftand engageable with a follower on the platen to actuate the platen, means to dispose an inked ribbon beneath the platen, a ratchet for imparting step-wise rotary motion to said cam shaft, a shiftable feed pawl for indexing said ratchet and carried on a pivotal drive plate, a link for operating said drive plate directly from said oscillatable drive means so as to cause actuation of the platen while an arrested printing plate is being sensed, means for feeding out a predetermined length of the ribbon between successive actuations of the inking platen and including spools for the inked ribbon, a ratchet for driving at least one such ribbon spool in a ribbon feeding direction, a shiftable ribbon feed pawl for driving the ratchet associated with said ribbon spool, a spiral cam and means operated by said spiral cam for shifting said ribbon feed pawl, a drive pinion for turning the spiral cam, and a rack for driving said drive pinion, said rack in turn being connected to and driven by said pivotal drive plate.

4. In a printing machine of the kind described wherein printing plates are to be advanced one by one from an initial position to a printing station, reciprocable feed means for advancing the printing plates one by one from said initial position toward the printing station, oscillatable drive means for reciprocating said feed means, an inking platen adapted to effect inking of the printing plates individually, yieldable means for holding the platen in a normal position spaced from the path of the printing plates, a cam follower on the platen, rotatable multi-lobe cam means engageable with said follower and effective when rotated to actuate the platen, means to dispose an inked ribbon beneath the platen, a ratchet for imparting step-Wise rotary motion to said cam means, a feed pawl for said ratchet and mounted on a drive plate, a link for operating said drive plate from said oscillatable drive means, means for feeding out a predetermined length of the ribbon between successive actuations of the inking platen and including spools for the inked ribbon, a ratchet for driving at least one such ribbon spool, a feed pawl carried on a shiftable plate for driving the ratchet associated with said ribbon spool, a rotary spiral cam, means interconnecting said spiral cam and said shiftable plate, a drive pinion for the spiral cam, and a rack for driving said drive pinion, said rack in turn being driven by said drive plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,509 Belknap Feb. 19, 1918 (Other references on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Gollnick Oct. 13, 1925 Miller Nov. 24, 1925 Johnson July 1, 1930 5 Gollnick Dec. 16, 1930 Eley Ian. 2, 1934 18 Gollwitzer Sept. 8, 1936 Gollwitzer Oct. 11, 1938 Rainey Apr. 11, 1939 Kriger May 14, 1940 Elliott Sept. 3, 1940 Elliott July 8, 1941 Hueber Oct. 10, 1944 

